NIL helping Austin shoe store, local athletes

June 2021 saw the NCAA adopt rules that allow student-athletes to benefit from their name, image and likeness. Kicking It quickly hopped aboard and partnered with local athletes with NIL deals.

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Dr. Greg Grovey has long had a vision of opening a shoe store. As the founder of Kicking It ATX in The Domain in North Austin, running the store is a passion project.

"My dad was an entrepreneur so that kind of was instilled in me to be an entrepreneur," said Grovey. "Just having the dream of working for myself and doing something I love."

June 2021 saw the NCAA adopt rules that allow student-athletes to benefit from their name, image and likeness. Kicking It quickly hopped aboard and partnered with local athletes with NIL deals.

"It's still really new so we're still learning every day as we go," said Grovey about NIL partnerships. "Learning new ways for it to be beneficial to us as well as ways beneficial to our athletes."

Kicking It partners with some big names in the college football world. Texas football players Ja'Tavion Sanders and Roschon Johnson and Longhorns women's basketball player Rori Harmon are among those that have inked NIL deals with the north Austin apparel company.

UTSA and Huston-Tillotson athletes are also among the nearly 20 athletes that partner with Kicking It. Part of what these athletes do is model for social media posts, something that got the attention of Huston-Tillotson senior baseball player Robbie Brue.

"I've always wanted to model," said Brue about how his conversation with Kicking It went. "Any modeling opportunities you have, if I can do it, let me do it.

Modeling for Huston-Tillotson softball player Willow Houston did not come without questions.

"What do I do?" said Houston on what she was asking during her photoshoot. "What face do I make? How do I stand?"

Grovey is a graduate of Huston-Tillotson and a professor at the university. To be able to partner with athletes from schools other than just the University of Texas is special to him and those he works with.

"[Greg] is putting his faith and his brand in us even though we're of the 'lower tier' of college athletes if you will," said Brue. "I don't get to [Texas] but I'm able to get opportunities as if I do go to [Texas]."

"So with Kicking It and other stores starting to do NIL deals with smaller schools, it's what's going to make those smaller schools start to be heard," said Houston.

Kicking It determines for each of their NIL athletes what the deal will include. Merchandise, money and cross-promotion on social media are some of the ways these athletes benefit. But Grovey knows these deals help both sides.

"You got people that are diehard women's basketball fans but know nothing about the sneaker industry," said Grovey. "Nothing about Kicking It. But because we have an athlete on our team that plays women's basketball now they are exposing our brand to them."

Grovey said they are looking to expand in the future and add more NIL athletes to their team.